Harvard ManageMentor PRESENTATION SKILLS TOOLS

Group Learning Project Plan:

Working as a Team to Prepare a Presentation
Use this learning project plan to define your project, schedule project activities, identify necessary resources,
track your progress, and reflect on your project outcomes. Consider adding more or different reflection questions
in Part III to fit your project.
Part I. Define your group learning project
Project description:
Over a 30-day period, project team members will work together to prepare a group presentation, including assigning
presenters, structuring the flow, and coordinating visuals. The project team will then deliver the presentation. Following
their presentation, team members will meet to evaluate its effectiveness.
Project goal(s):
Help team members learn how to collaborate effectively in preparing and delivering team presentations.
Project participants:

Part II. Plan and track your progress

Project steps

Resources needed

Target completion
date

1. Form a group that will prepare, deliver

and evaluate a presentation.

Identify an upcoming presentation you
would like to give.
Alternately, your manager may assign
a presentation.
Review Making Group
Presentations.

Day 1
Making Group
Presentations (In the
Learn section of the
Harvard
ManageMentor topic
Presentation Skills)

Meet as a project team to clarify the

presentations purpose, key messages,

audience needs and context.
Complete the Preliminary Planning
Worksheet.
Complete the Audience

Characteristics Worksheet.
Complete the Presentation Context
Worksheet.

Day 5
Preliminary
Planning Worksheet
(in the Tools section of
the Presentation Skills
topic)
Audience
Characteristics
Worksheet (in the
Tools section of the
Presentation Skills
topic)
Presentation Context
Worksheet in the
Tools section of the
Presentation Skills
topic)

2.

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Check when
completed

3.

Meet as a project team a second time to

draft a presentation outline and choose the
presentation visuals.
Complete the Presentation Outline
Worksheet
Choose visuals, referring to Choose
Your Visuals

4. Work with your presentation group to

create the appropriate visuals and

supporting materials and rehearse the
presentation.
Decide what tasks can be assigned to
individuals or subgroups.
Decide which members of the group
will deliver the presentation

Presentation Outline Day 10

Worksheet (in the
Tools section of the
Presentation Skills
topic)
Choose Your Visuals
(in the Learn Section
Using Media of the
Presentation Skills
topic)
Tips for Presenting
Effectively (in the
Tips Section of the
Presentation Skills
topic)

Day 28

5. Deliver your groups presentation

6. Meet as a group to evaluate your

presentation. What worked well? What

would you do differently next time? Also,
debrief the project, discussing links
between the preparation stage and the
actual presentation, and reflecting on

lessons learned using part III of the

reflection questions.

Day 21

Steps for Practicing Day 30

and Evaluating (in
the Steps section of the
Presentation Skills
topic)
Reflection questions in
Part III of this tool.

Part III. Reflect on your project outcomes

At the conclusion of your group learning project, use the following questions to reflect on your project
experience and outcomes.
What did you learn about group presentation skills based on this project?

What were your biggest surprises during, or at the conclusion of, your project?

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What were the biggest challenges during the project?

What differences do you see, if any, between developing a presentation as a group, and developing a presentation on your
own?

Based on your insights gained from the project experience, what will you or your group do differently going forward?

What suggestions or tips would you give to future participants doing the same or similar project?

Part IV. Share your results

Share your findings with others outside of your group: At the conclusion of the project, consider sharing your
lessons learned and project results with others in your organization. For example, you could hold an
information-sharing session over lunch or post suggestions on a discussion forum.

2010 Harvard Business School Publishing. All rights reserved.